Do men and women think differently about Judaism?

Over the past year I have had the privilege to teach classes – including open Q and A sessions – to groups of both male and female Orthodox students in Jerusalem. Participants in these sessions were granted the opportunity to submit questions anonymously, meaning that they had no need to be anxious as to how their questions would be perceived by others. What struck me was how there was virtually no overlap between the sorts of questions posed by the male and female groups.

The matters which bothered the boys generally focused on subjects such as proofs for God and the authenticity of the Torah, rabbinic authority, rationalism and mysticism. The girls, meanwhile, were understandably more troubled by the role of women in Judaism and tzniut-modesty laws. But they submitted a number of questions beyond these topics, and not a single one matched up with what the boys were asking. This is not to say they were not interested in these topics – separate lessons on rabbinic authority and rationalism prompted animated discussion. But when given the opportunity to anonymously present the questions they would most like to be treated in Judaism, what boys tend to regard as “the big questions” did not seem to feature for the girls.

A blog post in the Time of Israel by Rabbi Dr Joshua Berman (linked in the top comment) made me realise that my experiences were far from unique. The article, titled “Is biblical criticism a male issue?”, revealed that Berman had received hundreds of emails from unknown troubled souls seeking help regarding the historicity and accuracy of the Torah. None of these emails, he reported, were sent by women. Berman notes further that this statistic is consistent with his experiences both on social media and in real-life interactions – and spans both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences. He then concludes with a brief discussion as to whether the relative disinterest shown in these topics by women is innate or due to elements of their upbringing.

In its chapter on parashat Tazria, Judaism Reclaimeduses the discrepancy between the Torah’s specified purification processes for mothers of male and female babies as a springboard for investigating its broader differentiation between genders. The chapter cites and develops discussion from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (The Great Partnership, pp49-54) regarding possible distinctions in the neurological functioning of men and women. Studies quoted by Rabbi Sacks indicated that:

“Men’s moral thinking tended to be formal and abstract, women’s contextual and based on telling stories. Men spoke about justice, women about relationships.”

If this is indeed the case, is it not to be expected that the there are to be some differences in how the Torah guides males and females to achieve their spiritual fulfilment?

This is only part of the story though. My upcoming Talmud Reclaimed: An Ancient Text in the Modern Era investigates how much of Jewish law which reaches us through the Talmud can be contextualised based on the social realities that prevailed in the time and place where it was written. Conversely, how much is to be regarded as an expression of timeless and immutable moral and spiritual teachings that were transmitted intact from Sinai. If a new Sanhedrin were to take office tomorrow, how many of these laws would be within its power to amend or repeal? If the Talmud combines both of these categories, is there a technique that can help us distinguish between them when studying it?

Returning to the original story, one thing that particularly surprised me about both groups and their anonymous questions is that not a single question addressed the matter of LGBT rights and gender identification in Orthodox Judaism. Maybe a topic for another day…

First posted to Facebook 23 April 2023, here.